


Being Clear

by rsadelle



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance, Panic At The Disco
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-20
Updated: 2010-11-20
Packaged: 2017-10-25 21:10:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/274821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rsadelle/pseuds/rsadelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before they leave, he says to Bob, "We have this thing," complete with hand wave, "tomorrow and we're in the studio all week, but want to come over next Saturday and play? I have two kits."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Being Clear

Bob meets Spencer- Well, Bob's actually met Spencer before. It would be hard not to with how incestuous their scene is. But the first time he meets him in a way that's more than just introductions and their bands being in the same place, the first time he meets him in a way that means an actual conversation, is when Patrick drags him over to Pete's.

"It's just a few people," Patrick tells him, which doesn't actually make him feel any better. Bob has a good sense of what Pete's idea of "a few people" can mean, and while Pete occasionally shows surprising amounts of sensitivity, he can also be a total ass.

"Are you and Pete even talking right now?"

"We're always talking, even when we're not." That's a level of codependency Bob doesn't even want to touch.

It does turn out to actually be just a few people: Bob and Patrick, Brendon and Spencer, Pete and Ashlee, and Bronx crawling around the porch and charming the pants off of all of them.

Patrick and Brendon go in with Ashlee to put Bronx to bed. "You stay out here," Ashlee says, pointing at the rest of them. "Singers only."

Pete makes a face, then kisses Bronx, and Ashlee. "I sing to him all the time."

"I hope you're not torturing your kid with screamo," Spencer drawls, with a laugh in his voice.

"Just off-key singing. Not like you. You could do backup vocals, you know."

Spencer completely closes off. Like Bob said, Pete can be a total ass.

"We're a one-singer band now."

"Jesus," Pete says, "it's not like you're going to become diva of the year if you sing backup on one verse."

Spencer's gripping his beer bottle so tightly that Bob can see every nuance of his knuckles. "Drop it."

Bob takes an equally direct approach. "You're an ass, Wentz."

Pete actually looks wounded, and Spencer's eyes snap to Bob, like he'd forgotten Bob was even there.

"Dude," Bob says, "you of all people should know that's off-limits. We're not all you and Patrick." He finishes off his beer. "I guess I'm just lucky you didn't invite Mikey and Alicia." It hurts to say their names.

And now Pete looks actually sorry. A sorry Pete is hard to resist.

"Get us more beer," Bob says, "and we'll forgive you." After Pete goes into the house, he says to Spencer, "Sorry about your band."

Spencer nods. "Sorry about yours." He jerks his chin at Bob's hands. "You still drumming, though?"

Bob rotates his wrists. They still get sore sometimes, but they're okay. "Every day."

Spencer nods. "Hey, I've been working on this thing," and he starts tapping on the table.

Ashlee comes back out with Pete, but without Patrick or Brendon. "We lost them," she says, when Spencer quirks an eyebrow at her. "They started talking music and now they're in the studio singing into mics."

Spencer grins. "If you had a drum kit, Bob and I would have beat them to it."

"We used to have one," Pete says, "but Patrick took it back." He looks at the mirror images of their beer bottles, set up to be the cymbals, and frowns. "Are you asking Bob about drums? You never ask Patrick for help."

Spencer picks up the bottle of his that still has beer in it. "Brendon asks Patrick for help."

"You don't ask me for help either."

Spencer laughs. "You're not a drummer."

"I'm still in the rhythm section."

"Not the same thing," Bob says, getting himself a grin from Spencer.

Pete bullshits them about his knowledge of drums for a while, Ashlee laughing at him half the time, before Patrick and Brendon come back out of the house. Brendon sits down next to Spencer, leaning his head on Spencer's shoulder, and holds up a USB drive.

"Patrick helped. We can probably get this thing to work now." He yawns. "I'm tired. You should take me home."

Spencer rolls his eyes. "You're not that tired. You just haven't seen Sarah all day."

"That too."

Spencer stands up, dislodging Brendon. "Okay, let's go." Before they leave, he says to Bob, "We have this thing," complete with hand wave, "tomorrow and we're in the studio all week, but want to come over next Saturday and play? I have two kits."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Bob hands his phone over for Spencer's address and number.

*

Bob sleeps late on Saturday and shows up at Spencer's after lunch with a pair of drumsticks in his pocket and two cups of coffee in his hands.

"Brendon likes to play," Spencer explains when he opens the door to an incredibly crowded studio, "and he wouldn't leave my kit alone, so we set up a second one."

Bob spends a few minutes rearranging Spencer's second kit, moving things so they're better suited to him than the short, skinny kid from Spencer's band, and then they spend most of the afternoon playing, breaking only to down bottles of water from the stocked mini fridge in the corner. Spencer's good, and he's equally willing to lead and follow, shows off a little but not in a way that makes Bob want to kick his ass, especially since Bob's showing off a little too.

It's a damn good thing Bob's a professional, because otherwise the way Spencer looks, sweat soaked and banging away at his kit, would be a hell of a distraction.

It's been a couple of hours when Bob has to stop and stretch out his wrists.

"You okay?" Spencer asks.

Bob just grunts, then relents and says, "Yeah, just don't want to overdo it."

Spencer tosses Bob a towel and wipes his face down with another one. "I'm hungry anyway. Pizza?"

"Sure. Pepperoni?"

Spencer orders the pizza and they eat it sitting on the floor on either side of Spencer's coffee table.

"Holy shit," Bob says when Spencer opens the box.

"Think about who I hang out with. Of course I know where to get real Chicago-style pizza in L.A."

Spencer sends him home with the leftovers and a copy of their menu.

*

Spencer calls on Wednesday afternoon. "I know this is short notice, but want to have dinner tonight?"

Bob's not doing anything. "Sure."

"Pete says I'm not being clear, so, um," and this is the first time Bob's being reminded that Spencer's actually pretty young, "I'm asking you out on a date."

But not too young for that. "Does that mean I have to dress up?"

"Jeans and a black hoodie will be fine, but I will come pick you up."

Like Bob's going to turn that down. "Cool."


End file.
